Mirage aims to boost minis

While others have tried and failed to excite Australian car buyer interest in super-minis, Mitsubishi is convinced its Mirage five-door can unlock demand to the tune of 1000 sales per month.

That’s a sales rate far superior to the Volkswagen up!, Holden Barina Spark or Suzuki Alto, and more than 20 per cent ahead of the current sub-category leader, the Nissan Micra.

Based on 2012 VFACTS figures, 12,000 sales annually would also place Mirage sixth overall in the Light segment, behind only such luminaries as the Toyota Yaris, Mazda Mazda2 and Hyundai i20, all of which have bigger, four-cylinder engines.

A result like that was never achieved by the Mirage’s predecessor, the Colt, which struggled on price and never managed even 4000 sales in a calendar year.

Strong interest in the Mirage would also provide a key boost to Mitsubishi’s overall sales, which actually slipped back in a record 2012 as it battled with an ageing range.

On-sale today (Wednesday), the Thai-built Mirage is a 3710mm long five-door hatch powered by a 1.2-litre triple-cylinder engine.

Pricing starts at $12,990 drive-away for the base model ES manual, rising as high as $19,490 for the top-spec LS CVT auto. Until the end of January private buyers also get a $1000 Westfield gift card, which is tradeable. That effectively lowers the entry price to $11,990.

“There’s no point having a really cheap price and then only selling 100 of them,” said Mitsubishi Australia customer and brand management vice-president Paul Unerkov.

“You’ve got to have a target significant enough to achieve the volume to make it all pay. We are happy to be at the cheaper end of the market, it gives us a lot of opportunities.”

Standard Mirage equipment across the range includes six airbags, Bluetooth connection and streaming, USB and AUX input, a CD player, powered windows, remote central locking, air-conditioning, a leather steering wheel with audio and phone controls and a space saver spare wheel.

The mid-spec ES Sport adds 14-inch alloys, a roof spoiler, four speakers for its audio system (ES gets just two) and door sash blackout. The top-spec LS adds climate control, higher grade seat fabric, 15-inch alloys, front foglights, automatic dusk sensing headlights and rain-sensing wipers, a smart key and one-touch starting.

The tiny engine produces 57kW and 100Nm. The ES and Sport five-speed manual and CVT all average 4.6L/100km and CO2 emissions of 109g per km. The LS averages 4.8L/00km manual and 4.9L/100km for the CVT, with emissions of 113g/km and 115g/km respectively.

The Mirage is being tested this week by ANCAP with the result expected to be announced within weeks. Mitsubishi is hoping for five stars.

Mr Unerkov said overall, Mitsubishi was targeting as many as 70,000 sales in 2013, a significant rise from the 58,868 achieved in 2012.

Apart from Mirage, expected sources of the rise in sales are a full-year of the new generation Outlander, including the arrival of the PHEV plug-in hybrid mid-year, the addition of an automatic ASX diesel and re-pricing of the ageing Lancer small car. The Pajero 4WD wagon also upgrades to a five star NCAP rating around mid-year, opening up potential fleet opportunities.

In 2014 the big-selling Lancer and Triton LCV are renewed, while there is also the prospect of a sedan version of Mirage, although that is yet to be confirmed.

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site…